We finally tied the knot!

My husband and I have been together for 5yrs now. Our wedding was a long overdue plan that we have not really had the time to work on since we have been busy with work and now our kids.Let's just say the wedding was the least among our priorities until we thought Olivia needed to be dedicated soon. When I opened this up to few of my friends, we were asked about our wedding plan; and so I thought that prioritizing Olivia's dedication would also mean temporarily laying our wedding plans to rest for quite a while, again. On one particular night in December last year, I decided on a wedding date. It was a leap of faith.



We first agreed on a very intimate wedding with only 50 people on our guest list since we were on a practically tight budget. In hindsight, I don't know how else it all happened but things just seemed to have fallen into place and have worked out perfectly for us, only that I am certain it was through God's amazing grace that we were provided everything we needed and even became blessed enough to have been able to double our number of guests from 50 to 100.



Motif/Theme:

Being the girly type that I am, I decided to play unconventional and did not go for the usual bright pastel colors as everyone might have expected. I chose to go for a Red and Black wedding theme to be -one, a little bit different and edgy -Who doesn't want to look unique on their special day, by the way? And two, it looks elegant -a must on all special occasions, let alone my wedding day!


Venue:

We first thought of a beach or a garden venue... but since we couldn't find a place that is accessible and fits the budget, we asked our organizer. Woodridge Clubhouse is just perfect... near, nice, and inexpensive. We're supposed to book the open air hall but there was a confusion with the booking because coincidentally, ia couple who I share the same last name with was also getting married on the same time and date at the same place. We ended up getting the Closed Airconditioned Function Hall which accommodates a total of 130 pax only for 7500. A good deal, isn't it?

Catering

As I mentioned, we first thought of having only 50 guests. I booked Davao Catering Services for their 11k-worth package that includes 4 courses, pasta, rice, fruits and drinks and a dessert station. Darlene of DCS said if we would upgrade from 50 to 120pax, she would give it for 18k which I know was apparently excessive considering our target # of guests was only 100, albeit the price for the 120-pax deal was reasonable. We were able to close the deal at 16k for 100pax, minus the dessert station. Courses included Pork Steak, Chicken Barbecue, Chopsuey, Bam-i, and Carbonara for pasta -all of which I found palatably decent, especially the Pork Steak! We also ordered 2 Lechons-a 40-kg heavy lechon served at the venue and a 35-kg one at home--both for only 9,300

Gowns

A friend offered to lend me her wedding gowns but unfortunately, they didn't fit. Thankfully, Our Pastor's wife who also happened to be one of our principal sponsors insisted wedding gowns for me to wear, and boy do I call it "meant to be" as I fell in love with it the second I saw it personally. It was a bit baggy though, but a good gown seamstress altered it for me. It then felt even more perfect. I super love my wedding gown.






My Entourage.
My bridesmaids wore red tutu skirts paired with black tops of their choice.I scored their tutu skirts from Mieg Dugang for only 400 pesos each, 300 pesos for the one worn by my toddler niece, and 200 pesos each for the ones worn by my baby and another (2-year old) niece. I also had my bridesmaids wear headpieces ultimately from Audrey and Rachels. (If you have been following my blogs then you would know this is where the best headpieces are bought.)





Make-up

Funny how I ended up hiring a make-up artist because of the sole reason that I felt pressured. All my girlfriends told me that I should be the prettiest lady on my wedding day. And I am so glad to have met Deo Plaza who brought out the most beautiful version of me on my wedding day. I racked up my exquisite hair and make-up for 4k, while my entourage was glammed up by Kim Calo (who did a great job by the way) for 400 pesos per person.






Organizer and Decorations

Looking for a trusted and budget-friendly organizer was difficult. Thank God, He led me to Fayery Concepts. Since I have already settled the catering and the venue, Annie of Fayery Concepts took care of the rest. I sent her photos of my preferences for the wedding, and to be honest, she went beyond what I expected. I was happy with how the place turned out, and how outstanding her team was. In fact, Shylene, her coordinator was friendly, calm, and focused (which how I basically needed everyone including myself to be that day. If not for her, I might have freaked out on my wedding day). Another from her team took the initiative to take photos because unfortunately I was not able to secure a photographer. Also, I asked Annie to be our emcee and said yes without batting an eyelash despite the short notice; and when my 7-month old daughter went fussy during the ceremony my lovely organizer Annie breastfed Olivia, and just simply saved the day. I love how she micromanaged down to the smallest details -from my bridal car decorations to even my earrings. And oh, I must not forget to mention how I so loved my pretty red roses bouquet which I almost didn't want to let go of even for a second. I could go on and on, but let's just put it this way: Fayery Concepts did an awesome job in making my wedding day successful.




Giveaway

I'm happy to know that my guests (those who got one) loved my giveaway. It was a frozen flower in a mini jar with cork stopper, and I got these real flowers that last for years from Poppy Petals, with discounts! Thank you, Dyna!






















Photos

The only thing I regretted that day was that I missed to capture the moments when my son and daughter walked down the aisle. I was glad though that Kuya Jesse of Jesse Bcny Photography came to save our shutter needs.

Overall, we spent just almost 70,000 for this wedding...

Here's the breakdown:

Venue - Woodridge Clubhouse : 7,000 (Originally 7500, my organizer paid for the remaining 500 because of the booking conflict.)
Power Charge (Venue): 1700
Catering - Davao Catering Services: 16,000
2 Lechons: 9,300
Tutu Skirts - Mieg Dugang: 3200
Lucas and Jan's Suits: 1600
My Makeup - Deo Plaza: 4,000
My Entourage Makeup - Kim Calo: 2,800
Cake - Cakes By Corina : 1700 (including delivery)
Organizer and Decors - Fayery Concepts: 15,000
Giveaways - Poppy Petals: 2,300
Studio Room Accommodation for 2 nights - Marton Suites: 1,800

What we got for free:

2nd cake - Luchie's (2 Layer Cake - 2,800 pesos)
Gowns
Suits for Groomsmen (since they paid for it)
Photographer - Jesse Bcny Photography
Bridal Car

I am thinking if these things provided for free will be included in the budget, it will run from 70,000 to 80,000 all in.

But we as a couple ACTUALLY spent only 30,000 pesos for our wedding, directly out of our pockets. The rest of our total expenditure was taken care of by our loved ones who expressed their love and support instead through sponsoring, owing to the reason that they could not come to witness and celebrate with us on our wedding day.

Our make-up was sponsored by my best friend Issa who's in Dubai and Tita Raquel from Japan.
Our venue was from my second mom Ate Mary Ann from Saudi.
Our catering from my Papa who's currently overseas (seafarer) and Tita Mary Ann from Canada.
Our lechons from my other Papa (Hubby's father)

Check out the photos... Who would have thought it was a frugal wedding on a tight budget? For me, having basically a super classy and elegant arrangement, a decent meal for 100 people, plus the best make up artists in town... 80,000 pesos was still SULIT.